Contraceptive Use and Fertility in India


Book Description

This authors present the key results of a study of contraceptive use and fertility in the state of Gujarat, and explore its implications for India as a whole.




Reproductive Agency, Medicine and the State


Book Description

Recent years have seen many changes in human reproduction resulting from state and medical interventions in childbearing processes. Based on empirical work in a variety of societies and countries, this volume considers the relationship between reproductive processes (of fertility, pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period) on the one hand and attitudes, medical technologies and state health policies in diverse cultural contexts on the other. Maya Unnithan-Kumar is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Her research in the early 1990s focused on kinship and gender relations in northwest India and appeared as Identity, Gender and Poverty (Berghahn Books 1997).







Higher Education and the Reproductive Life Course


Book Description

This study examines the impact of higher educational attainment on the changing lives of women, both at the individual and the societal level. The study focusses on the cross-cultural contexts in one of the states in South India and the Netherlands. Karnataka in the recent times is experiencing fertility transition while the Netherlands has already achieved fertility transition. The two cultural contexts are both diverse and unique in character. The author explores both the uniqueness as well as the similarities, hence studying the impact of higher education on the changing lives of women as a continuum across cultures and societies. Changes at the individual level are captured by distinguishing women into older and younger generations, while changes at the societal level are captured through social change. At the individual level, we distinguish between the 'lived' life course and the 'perceived' life course. At the societal level we focus on how higher educational attainment has enhanced women's position in the society. The study uses secondary data from the National Family Health Survey (1998-1999) for the state of Karnataka and the Netherlands Family Fertility Survey (OG 98). In addition to the secondary data, in-depth interviews were also conducted amongst women in Bangalore and Groningen.




Women's Education, Autonomy, and Reproductive Behaviour


Book Description

This research survey looks at the measurable effects of women's education on fertility and female autonomy. Women's access to education is a fundamental right, empowering women and affecting their demographic behavior. However, there is little consensus on the exact nature of the relationship between education, fertility, and autonomy. This study reviews the evidence from the developing world that has emerged over the last twenty years.




Understanding Women's Empowerment


Book Description

"This report examines the distribution and correlates of two different dimensions of the empowerment of currently married women age 15-49 in 23 developing countries"-- P. xv.




South Asia in the Era of Globalization


Book Description

The South Asian economies constitute the largest and most densely populated region of the world. With an estimated 1.4 billion plus people, this is a larger market area than China. This volume addresses South Asia's opening up and attempts to integrate into the global economy. The volume is unique among existing offerings on South Asia in that it covers the dynamics of structural adjustments due to globalisation, focusing on the development and welfare aspects of the region. The contributions, by a broad range of international experts from the disciplines of banking and finance, economics, management and political science, are informed by three central themes. The three themes are industry reforms and market adjustment; economic performance and the effects on globalisation on specific industries; and economic development, poverty and welfare issues. The volume adopts a broad interdisciplinary approach to these issues and will appeal to readers from across the business disciplines.




Voice and Agency


Book Description

Despite recent advances in important aspects of the lives of girls and women, pervasive challenges remain. These challenges reflect widespread deprivations and constraints and include epidemic levels of gender-based violence and discriminatory laws and norms that prevent women from owning property, being educated, and making meaningful decisions about their own lives--such as whether and when to marry or have children. These often violate their most basic rights and are magnified and multiplied by poverty and lack of education. This groundbreaking book distills vast data and hundreds of studies to shed new light on deprivations and constraints facing the voice and agency of women and girls worldwide, and on the associated costs for individuals, families, communities, and global development. The volume presents major new findings about the patterns of constraints and overlapping deprivations and focuses on several areas key to women s empowerment: freedom from violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, ownership of land and housing, and voice and collective action. It highlights promising reforms and interventions from around the world and lays out an urgent agenda for governments, civil society, development agencies, and other stakeholders, including a call for greater investment in data and knowledge to benchmark progress.